English PEN to recruit for new director

English PEN is to look for a new director after Jonathan Heawood announced that he will step down in June.

Heawood, who has served as director of the writers' association for six years, is to take up a new role as director of programmes at human rights foundation, the Sigrid Rausing Trust.

Gillian Slovo, English PEN president, said: "For us, this comes with the sadness of losing such a valuable leader of our team as well as with the confidence that together Jonathan and the staff have built great stability and dynamism into English PEN—something I am sure that his successor, whoever they turn out to be, will now carry forward."

Heawood said: "It has been an amazing privilege to be part of PEN at such an exciting time in its 90-year history . . . I’ve enjoyed every moment of working with the team here, and I look forward to watching the organisation grow even further."

English PEN has appointed Heather Norman Söderlind as deputy director, joining on 16th March. Her previous roles include head of public and regional marketing at the British Library, and advertising and publishing director at Reuters.

Söderlind said: "I am delighted to be joining English PEN at a time of great promise in the organisation’s history and look forward to helping realise its ambitions."